unclehotte Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 Hello. This is about my Cutlass supreme international. 1992 3.4 with now 125000 miles on it. Today I lost all my coolant.....Suddenly I have no radiator plug anymore, its just gone On one of the spark plug cables white foam was blowing out. So I guess the head gasket went. QUESTION1: With this mileage...shall I try to get the head gasket replaced? Or shall I give up on the engine (or the car) all together??? To fix this is beyond my capabilities and i got told from my shop i am looking at $1200 and he couldn't guarantee that the engine block is not cracked also. QUESTION2: If i get a new plug and fill the radiator up with coolant again can I drive the car or will this damage the engine more? Thanks for any help. I love this car and own it now for 7 years but this is the biggest problem i ever had with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swift13 Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 1200 sounds like a lot but then again i do my own work. i have never seen a block crack due to a blown head gasket (i know im gonna get reemed for that one) i no it happens but i have yet to see it personally. if you like the car i would say fix it but look around and dont pay that kind of price you can get a newer engine thrown in for that price or buy the same car running and have change. look around and find a better price.my garage price on that would be like 4-500 so i can see a shop doing about double that. im doing a head job on a 93 excel right now and the guy is only 300 into his wallet so far I have done a lot of head jobs on these gm motors but never a dohc so i dont know if that can be machined down or not due to the valve clearance, if anybody knows please tell. i am needing to know this for my 3.4 i hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 Do a compression test first to verify whether or not you've actually blown the headgasket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 Or you can do a coolant system pressure check to see if it holds pressure or where its bleeding the pressure from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclehotte Posted January 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 I will fill it up with coolant tomorrow and see what happens. If i can drive it I will get those tests done. Also I was told I should use BLUE DEVIL which would fix a blow head gasket? $60 for a bottle would be a CHEAP fix if that really fixes the blown gasket like i was told. Has anybody here ever tried this Blue devil stuff??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 The only way to fix a leaking headgasket is to replace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpesignum Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 mine went bad on my 97 malibu 3.1. the estimates i got were between 1500-1750. (its a 12 hour job) i think the kit was right around 300$... you can get all the tools you need for about 100-150$ or you can buy a nice set and figure your making your money back. (sears normally has a black box with red drawers for sale for about $170) if i dident have a set and have built it up thats what i would get as a starter. changing the head gasket was surprisingly easy. just take your time and make sure you CLEAN everything very well. use nut buster on the exhaust bolts, scrape and stone (fine sharpening stone) the head and block to make sure theres nothing on them that will prevent a good seal. make sure theres no grit or grime when you put it back together. the first one i did took me about a week working full time and going to school full time in 17* weather(an hour here 2 hours there). i did another one i few months later and it took me 4hrs to strip it down and 4 hrs to put it back together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclehotte Posted February 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Ok. Got a new radiator drain plug into the radiator. Filled up the radiator and ran the engine till thermostat opened and topped off coolant. Engine seems to run normal and I see NO oil in the water and NO water in the oil. Also no bubbles in the reservoir.But there is still a little white foam on the spark plug cable when i pull it out. So I guess I should be able to drive it now to the shop to get some tests done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 $1200 isn't a bad price... when mine went GM quoted me a new engine @ $2200 (in hind sight I should of jumped on that) I ended up paying the shadiest of shops to fix it for $500, they said it would take 3 days from the time I dropped it off and 3 weeks later they hadn't touched it, when they did finally start it took them 4 days, but they stuck to their $500 quote. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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